Automobile seats



Aug. 28, 1962 J. A. TAYLOR AUTOMOBILE SEATS Filed June 16. 1958 FIG. 3

FIG.1

FIG.6

F "I'll/Ill INVENTOR. TAMES A. TAYLOR ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fi ice 3,051,525 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,525 AUTOMOBILESEATS James A. Taylor, 25 Old Oak Road, Glen Ridge, NJ. Filed June 16, 1958, Ser. No. 742,424 Claims. (Cl; 297-613) There is a marked difference in the height, leg length and proportions of various persons particularly between men and women who may be called upon to operate the same car. Some have difficulty due to short or stout legs in reaching operative pedals from seats of fixed heights. Moving the seat forward or backward at times merely accentuates the difiiculty of operation. In many cases the pressure of the front edge of the seat against the back muscles of the thigh can create continuous pain in muscle nerves which can be alleviated only by lowering this edge. No seat which lacks the means for adjustment can be equally comfortable for all persons.

Many modern cars have pedals operative by the right leg only. Those of the clutch type require both legs for operation. In the first case depressing the right section of the front edge of the seat will give relief and in the second case the whole of the front edge should be depressed. Depressing this edge without altering the angle of the rear part of the seat will make ingress and exit into and out of the car much easier.

This application constitutes a unified conception to adjust the drivers seat to various conditions of use by variously proportioned people. The unifying element is the adjustability of the front edge of the seat as compensation for raising the seat or for a seat in normally high position for certain people. It is also to provide ease of access and exit when a seat is rotated toward the door so that the short person can step directly to the ground instead of jumping or sliding down, a very necessary accessory.

While applicant has shown a base attached to the floor it is obvious that such base can be attached to the universally used base frame adjustable to be moved forward and backward without departing from the scope of his invention.

The modern tendency in car design is to accentuate lower cars and lower seats so that getting into and out of cars is inconvenient and annoying for the driver behind the steering wheel and results in the disarray of clothing, loss of time and frequent injury due to twisting the body. With lower seats, higher hoods and fenders the short person cannot see the road immediately ahead and in hilly country often cannot see the road at all which is obviously dangerous. The means for raising and lowering the seat should be in every car.

The objects of my invention are to provide a seat, primarily for automobiles, adapted to give relief from the above discomforts -by providing the means to equalize operating equipment by adjustment to personal conditions, including means to rotate the drivers seat to a position facing the door without twisting his body, means for raising and lowering such seat parallel to the back of the seat and means for adjusting the front edge of such seat to various angles.

While the application of my device is here applied to automobiles it is obvious that the same may be used for airplanes, ofiices or other purposes and without departing from the scope of my invention and I do not intend to limit its use to automobiles. The front section may also be supported in a permanent frame by way of economy.

To such ends my said invention in its preferred form consists of a separate seat for the driver of a car supported on rotatable bearings capable of revolving the front of the seat to a position facing the door, means for raising and lowering such seat manually and means for changing part or all of the front edge of such seat to various angles relative to the floor of the car and the remainder of the seat.

My said invention is fully shown, described and claimed in the following specification of which the accompanying drawings form a part wherein numerals of reference designate like or equivalent parts wherever found through out the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view from above of the entire device showing the adjustable portion of the front of the seat and in dotted lines the means for changing the angle of the same and means for elevating and rotating the seat.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same with part of the mechanism in cross section through the center of the seat.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the adjustable portion of the front with the intervening part of the seat removed and in dotted lines the supports for maintaining the same at various angles and the means for locking the seat against rotation.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the adjustable front portion of the seat.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of the means for looking the seat against motion.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the elevating means.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of the same.

Referring to the drawings:

My new and improved drivers seat of an automobile comprises a detached circular part A of the front seat B (FIGS. 1 and 2). Attached to the bottom of the part A is a circular inverted drum 1, around the inside periphery of which is secured the upper race of the circular roller bearing 2. A similar but smaller drum 3 is inserted into the drum 1 from below. Around the upper edge of the drum 3 is secured the lower race of the roller bearing 2. The bearing 2 provides means to rotate the part A. When the seat A has been rotated one quarter turn toward the door it will contact the back of the seat and stop. When the seat A is rotated back to normal position it is held against rotation by the latch 4 secured to the drum 1 and extending downward and positioned to engage the posts 5 and 6 which are fixed to the drum 3. The shank of the latch is composed of flexible metal so that the slanting face of the latch will ride over the post 5 and drop into position between the two posts locking the seat against motion.

The supporting tubular base 7 is provided with the circular flange 8 secured to the floor by the bolts 9. The sides of the base 7 are parallel to the front face of the back of the seat C. Secured to the bottom of the drum 3 by the flange 10 is the tubular support 11 of such size as to fit concentrically and snugly into the tubular base 7.

In the side of the 'base 7 is provided a rectangular slot 12. Attached to the tubular support 11 and centered in and protruding through the slot I12 is the rack '13. Coacting with and actuating the rack 13 is the gear 14 with which is engaged the Worm 15. The worm 15 is provided with an actuating handle 16 which is held against motion when so desired by the sliding fork 17 coacting with slots in the Worm 15. The worm 1'5 and gear 14 are supported by the frame 18 attached to the base 7. The actuations of the worm gear raises or lowers the seat A continuously in contact with the slanting back of the seat.

The seat A is provided with a movable section D pivotally supported near its rear end by the bar 19. The front edge of section D is depressable below the front edge of A and is maintained at a desired depression by means of the insertion of the pivoted bar 20 into notches in the bars 21 which are secured to the bottom of section D. The bar 20 is manually operated to engage such notches as may be selected to maintain the section D at a given angle to the remainder of the seat. The bar 20' is sup ported at its rear end by the plate 22 which is secured to the drum 1. For ease in engaging the bar 20 into such notches the spring 23 is provided to press the bar 20 against the bars 21. The drum 1 projects partly beneath the section D. A recess 24 is provided in the bottom of section D into which such portion of the drum 1 will enter without interference with the movement of section D.

A plurality of angular braces 25 are secured to drum 1 which extend beneath drum 3. Such braces hold the movable drum 1 against rocking up or down and are in loose contact with drum 3 and will not interfere with the rotation of'drum 1.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The latch 4 is withdrawn releasing the revolving part of the seat and the seat is turned toward the door. To

by depressing the front edge of the section to a plurality of positions and maintaining the same in such positions.

3. In a device of the class described in a rotatable automobile seat, means for changing the angle of a front portion of such seat relative to the remainder of the seat when such front portion has been rotated toward the door of the automobile by depressing the front edge of the section to a plurality of positions and maintaining the same in such positions;

4. In a device of the class described, an automobile seat, means for elevating and lowering such seat parallel to the front face of the back of the seat whose angle in relation to the floor is less than ninety degrees, and means for changing the angle of the front portion of such seat enter the seat the driver sits on the seat and revolves it 7 back into forward position when it is automatically locked in position.

To elevate or lower the seat the driver may turnthe handle 16 in the proper direction to elevate or lower and when the proper position is reached press the fork 17 into the slots in the worm 15. This may be done before entering the seat or While seated.

To elevate or lower the section D, the pivoted bar 20 is manually released from the notches in the bar 21 and placed in the appropriate notch in the bar 21.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described having a rotatable drivers seat of an automobile which can be raised and lowered, means for changing the angle of a section of the front of such seat relative to the remainder of the seat by depressing the front edge of the section to a plurality of positions and maintaining the same in such positions.

2. In a device of the class described having a rotatable drivers seat of an automobile, means for raising and lowering such seat parallel to the back of the seat the angle of which to the floor is less than ninety degrees and means for changing the angle of a section of the front of the seat in relation to the various heights of the seat relative to the remainder of the seat commensurate with a change in the height of the seat by depressing the front edge of the section to a plurality of positions and maintaining the same in such positions.

5. In a device of the class described, a drivers seat of an automobile, means for depressing a section of the front edge of such seat and so positioning the same relative to the remainder of the seat as to remove such edge from contact with the leg of the driver and means for maintaining such edge in a plurality of positions. 

